Yoga & Qigong - Compared (by you)

[Guest Jason Croft]

Try to learn Yoga's Savansana - then come out to talk - after you remember to cover your azz's

Till then no respect.

[Jetsun]

 

You can do both jogging and yogging. Yoga and ChiKung. There is Yin Yoga (Dao Yin) which is good for flexibility and health.

Yoga can be spiritual even if you do not have enlightened teacher in Himalayas. Yoga is not asana only. There are many other spiritual techniques sucj as pranayama and meditations.

Someone made a film trying to work out what Yoga really means and they had no real conclusion at the end of it, Yoga means different things depending on where you go and who you talk to. Qigong is similar, it is quite a new term created to incorporate a huge variety of practices. The majority of what is being taught as Qigong and Yoga are new inventions by people who trademark their invention in order to make money out of it. I don't see any evidence that much of this stuff is spiritual, I don't hear about people having spiritual awakenings while doing the latest brand of yoga in their Manhattan dance studios. I did intense Pranayama for about 6 months and it just made me feel like I was on drugs, a lovely haze to retreat into to avoid reality. Most of the spiritual teaching around these practices is lost or confused or didn't exist in the first place, of course a helpful master will tell you otherwise if you give him your bank details.

[johndoe2012]

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Edited August 18, 2013 by chris d

[johndoe2012]

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Edited August 18, 2013 by chris d

[Jetsun]

 

If enlightenment is realizing no-self (1st step) then qigong and yoga should help because you'll get fewer thoughts from energetic blockages and increased ability to concentrate.

 

So working with the physical body and energy bodies helps. At least that's my experience.

Maybe all that contrived/forced methods do is to strengthen the notion that you have to do something to achieve something in the future, maybe its just a subtler ego game to try to maintain the view of duality. Yet many masters say that everything you are looking for is already here, no need to strive to attain what you already are. The principle thing missing from most modern Yoga and Qigong methods is the investigation into who is the one doing them, without that it could all just be another game, as it probably makes you feel powerful and in control to think that you are the one who is removing blockages and working on yourself. Edited April 8, 2013 by Jetsun

[Jetsun]

 

From http://happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.dk/2013/01/using-yoga-postures-wself-inquiry-for.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would say the focus in Yin Yoga is generally vipassana like: seeing thoughts and sensations as they are.

 

hehe well you made an example of a self enquiry form of yoga before I made my point that most forms don't include this, does it help to do headstands and bend over backwards to enquire who you are I wonder ?

Edited April 8, 2013 by Jetsun

[Antares]

Maybe all that contrived/forced methods do is to strengthen the notion that you have to do something to achieve something in the future, maybe its just a subtler ego game to try to maintain the view of duality. Yet many masters say that everything you are looking for is already here, no need to strive to attain what you already are. The principle thing missing from most modern Yoga and Qigong methods is the investigation into who is the one doing them, without that it could all just be another game, as it probably makes you feel powerful and in control to think that you are the one who is removing blockages and working on yourself.

 

Why are you talking of forced methods? You do not have to go to yoga studio.

The investigation is only one of the methods coming from advaita. Which is came in turn from kashmir shaivism.

But this is the highest methods. They call KS as trika - three - fold spirit. path:

 

 

 

The three-fold spiritual path

1. Śāmbhavopāya - the path of Siva, the divine path; unstoppable spiritual aspiration is the characteristic of this short and difficult spiritual path
2. Śāktopāya - the path of the Divine Energy, the path of Śakti, the intermediary path; here the yogi must be able to perfectly control his emotions and thoughts and merge his consciousness with one or more Divine Energies, Śakti
3. Āṇavopāya – the individual path, accessible to the limited beings (aṇu); here the aspirant must strive to awaken his soul by working with his intellect (buddhi), subtle breath (prana), physical body (deha) or exterior objects such as yantras or the picture of an authentic master.

 

Of course better to have teacher in Yoga but there are quite powerful chikung (neikung) systems which are complete systems.

And yoga could be just addition for balance and health (as dao yin) if your system is lacking it.

Pranayama is good anyway for cleansing both physical and mental

[Jetsun]

 

Why are you talking of forced methods?

All that purposely moving energy and directing energy and opening chakras and forcing breathing etc constitutes the core of most modern Yoga and Qigong and they are forced methods, you are trying to make something happen rather than allowing something to happen naturally. All such methods are usually just hijacked by the ego for its own glory to convince itself that it is the one in charge doing all this stuff, its mostly just more ego games therefore not spiritual. Which is why the Taoist sage Lui I Ming said all contrived methods are useless for attaining the Tao.

 

Jenny Lamb more or less says the same thing in that you do Qigong etc for health, then if you want to move into the spiritual you have to work with non-duality which has little to do with waving your arms around and contorting your body.

[vivekji108]

So far I have not seen a single useful response....

 

I just wanted to compare yoga and qigong..

 

But you guys failed...

[Jetsun]

So far I have not seen a single useful response....

 

I just wanted to compare yoga and qigong..

 

But you guys failed...

There are thousands of forms of Yoga and thousands of forms of Qigong so it was a bad question, which two forms do you want to compare? people responded in a general way to a very general question, Yoga is more Yang and harder on your body while Qigong is more Yin and tunes you into your energy more softly.

[johndoe2012]

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Edited August 18, 2013 by chris d

[johndoe2012]

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Edited August 18, 2013 by chris d

[Antares]

I gave the link on authentic yoga source according to which the path is three folded

 

 

Āṇavopāya – the individual path, accessible to the limited beings (aṇu); here the aspirant must strive to awaken his soul by working with his intellect (buddhi), subtle breath (prana), physical body (deha) or exterior objects such as yantras or the picture of an authentic master

 

Did you read it?

 

There is difference in letting energy to accumulate (relaxing in a posture or breathing quietly) or force it to happen.

But authentic methods do not mean only seating or watching something. If you take posture and relax energy flows naturally.

A good example is Kouk Sun Do (the link above). It combines dao yin - opening channels

and pranayama in postures to accumulate jing in lower TT

and finishing exercises to bring this qi to the whole body. As simple as that

 

I just do not have any instructor on this at the place but one day I will engage in it probably.

The same in Yin Yoga you just relax in a posture and breath. And then meditation. But all is done in meditation mode. This is NOT forced method. It is about awareness. Methods help to cleanse physical and mental blockages

Edited April 8, 2013 by Eugene

[Antares]

So far I have not seen a single useful response....

 

I just wanted to compare yoga and qigong..

 

But you guys failed...

 

Lol. Compare? How? What does it mean to compare? Lol.

This is long life journey

[Antares]

There are many yoga and chikung styles. How to compare them?

Yoga means unity. Qi gong - work with qi, energy.

What you want to compare? Unity with qi?

[Mal]

 

you guys failed...

[JohnC]

So far I have not seen a single useful response....

 

I just wanted to compare yoga and qigong..

 

But you guys failed...

No no... there have been plenty of great posts.

 

You are just stuck within your perception of how you think it is and are looking for a response that corresponds to that.

 

John

[Maddie]

I was just wondering why it is that women tend to be the majority in yoga and men tend to be the majority in qigong?

[eye_of_the_storm]

Exercise helps still the mind + good hormone release?

Nothing wrong in wanting to feel and be your best physically.

Yoga means union with the divine?

Maybe this has lost its meaning...

What are people after?

Everything is spiritual

I really dislike the term spiritual...

because to say it means that something is not spiritual...

I more view everything is spirit... just at different levels / expressions.

There is nothing to attain...hmm other than to remember

Edited May 15, 2013 by White Wolf Running On Air

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

I was just wondering why it is that women tend to be the majority in yoga and men tend to be the majority in qigong?

 

 

dude... no.

 

 

Just... no.

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

So far I have not seen a single useful response....

 

I just wanted to compare yoga and qigong..

 

But you guys failed...

 

 

Well, to quote myself in verbatim:

 

 

 

 

Yoga, Qi Gong, Taijiquan, Bagua, Zha Zhuang or however you spell it...

 

 

They are body work, body practice, body improvement. they are all the same seed, yet produce different plants.

 

 

 

 

Would you like me to make more elaborate comparisons, or are you eager to make them yourself yet?

[JohnC]

I was just wondering why it is that women tend to be the majority in yoga and men tend to be the majority in qigong?

 

In India, yoga is a very masculine thing. Dominated by men.

In America it's not.

 

Culture, marketing and perception.

 

John

[Maddie]

In India, yoga is a very masculine thing. Dominated by men.

In America it's not.

 

Culture, marketing and perception.

 

John

Yea that part (about how is a man thing in India) I'm aware of, so what is the thing in the west (marketing, perspective) that makes it predominately female here?

[JohnC]

Yea that part (about how is a man thing in India) I'm aware of, so what is the thing in the west (marketing, perspective) that makes it predominately female here?

I think that it is touted as a weight loss exercise. So a lot of it is culture... and spiritualism is built into India in so many ways.

 

But you'll get a different answer based on who you ask. Why do you think?

 

John

[Maddie]

I think that it is touted as a weight loss exercise. So a lot of it is culture... and spiritualism is built into India in so many ways.

 

But you'll get a different answer based on who you ask. Why do you think?

 

John

 

I'm not sure, that's why I' asking lol